Administratrix op frank



Nor 6|2,944. PatentedzOct. 25, 1898.

F. A. COLBY, Decd. A. H. COLBY, Administratrix. MACHINE FOB DRYING WEBSDFGLOTH 0R PAPER.

(N0 Model.) (Application filed Apr. 10, 1697.) 2 sheets shefl I m M wh[INVENTZZ %zy7 ATTORNEY.

WITNESSES 1n: "cams vzrzas cow. PnoTo-uwm, msmnmow. D c

No. 6l2,944. .Patented Oct. 25, I898.

F. A. COLBY, Decd.

A. H. COLBY, Mministratrix.

MACHINE FOR DRYING WEBS 0F CLOTH 0R P ER.

(Application filed Apr. 10, 1697.) 2 shaats sheat 2.

FIG.3-

%%,/Why 63% MM .INVENTOH Q @ZM'M A 7TOHNE Y.

UNIT STATES PATENT OFFI E.

ADA H. COLBY, OF BERLIN,NEW HAMPSHIRE, ADMINISTRATRIX OF FRANK A. COLBY,DECEASED, ASSIGNOR TO THE VACUUM DRIER COMPANY, OF

VERMONT.

MACHINE FOR DRYING WEBS O F CLOTH OR PAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 612,944, dated October25, 1898.

Application filed April 10, 1897- Serial No. 631,506. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that FRANK ARTHUR COLBY, late a resident of Berlin, in thecounty of Coos and State of New Hampshire, did invent cer tain new anduseful Improvements in Machines for Drying Webs of Cloth or Paper, ofwhich the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,is a specification.

This invention relates to a means for drying yarn, cloth in the web,pulp or paper as it runs from the machine,leather-board,strawboard, andsimilar products. These Webs have heretofore been dried in the air bypassing them over steam-heated cylinders or drying-cans, and since toomuch heat would be injurious it has been necessary to provide a largeamount of moderately-heated surface, making the machine very clumsy andexpensive. The cloth to be dried'is in long webs, and paper is run offfrom a paper-machine continuously,and the application of a vacuum toassist in the evaporation thereof is the problem which has been solvedin this invention. In this invention the web is drawn continuousl ythrough a heated vacuum-chamber in which the atmospheric pressure is somuch reduced that the water is rapidly vaporized and actually boiled outat a temperature that cannot injure the fabric. The vacuum must bemaintained sufiicient to be effective, and provision must be made forcarrying the web in and out continuously without admitting air.

The machine devised for carrying out this inventionin the mostconvenient way is understood to be a basic invention and a new articleof manufacture. It consists of a closed chamber connected with anexhauster capable of removing at least half of the atmospheric pressure,heated preferably to less than190 Fahrenheit, and provided withrollergates through which the web to be dried may pass in and out. Theexhauster may be the ordinary air-pump; but since there is more steamthan air to be removed a condenser will more than double the efliciencyof the exhauster and a comparatively smallpump will suffice. The chambermay be heated by steam-coils or in any convenient way, and for somefabrics contact with the hot surfaces is not objectionable and cylindersheated from within may be used.

The'most important new feature of this drier is the device which allowsthe web to be dried to pass into and out from the vacuumchamber withoutadmitting air to spoil the vacuum. At each end of the exhausted chamberis an opening in the wall, rectangular in shape, into which is fitted apair of cylinders arranged to roll against eachother, and with suitablepacking to together close this opening practically air-tight. If the webto be dried i's cloth, the single thickness will pass between thecylinders that loosely fit each other; but if a web of delicate paper,which when wet has little strength, is to be provided for it will benecessary to provide endless aprons of wire-cloth, duck, or felt toreceive this web between them and to guide it through, and in that casethe cylinders of the roller-gates must be set a little apart, so thatthe two thicknessesnamely, the two aprons and the paper betweenthem-will just pass between without admitting air more than the littleair-pump will readily remove. These aprons must of course be carriedaround outside of the chamber by suitable guide-rollers, which can alsobe used as tighteners, one apron passing above the chamber and the otherbelow and arranged to receive the web between them where they cometogether and to deliver it at the other end of the chamber, Where theyseparate. These aprons will absorb much of the water from the websqueezed between them by the rollers at the entrance, and theevaporation will take place from them as well as from the paper itself.To allow the steam to pass off freely, the two aprons are separatedwithin the chamber by passing over rollers above and below the center,while the paper web may pass straight through. Preferably the cylindersof the roller-gates are heated from within through their journals, and athird pair so heated also placed in the middle of the chamber, so thatthe aprons and web are repeatedly squeezed between hot rolls and thenseparated to allow the steam to pass off, and the chamber is furtherheated by coils of pipe carrying steam,

or may be heated by these only, the cylinders not being arranged forinternal heat.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a View of the machine in elevation. Fig. 2is a partial plan view showing one edge of the machine,the rest beingrepresented as broken off; and Fig. 3 is an end View of the machine,showing the condenser, air-pump, boiler, and steam connections.

B represents the box or vacuum-chamber, connected by a pipe E with acondenser F and exhauster H, driven by steam from the boiler D, the airand condensed water being discharged through the waste-pipe W. At. theentrance of the chamber are the two cyl-' inders C O, rolling together,packed against the walls of the chamber at I I,.and intended to beheated through the hollow axles S S, as shown at the right hand of Fig.8, the usual steam connections and siphon for removing the water ofcondensation being applied in the usual manner. At the other end of thechamber is another pair of cylinders O O and in the middle of thechamber still another pair, or, if needed, more than one pair, as 0 0".Over these pass the two aprons A A, meeting at the entrance rollergatesor cylinders G O and separating at the similar roller-gates or cylindersC" 0, being carried, the upper one A over guide-rolls R R and above thetop of the chamber and the other one A down over the rolls R R and belowthe bottom of the chamber. The rolls R R R Rare made adjustable atL L totake up any slight slack in the aprons and to tighten one edge or theother to make them run true. Within the chamber and between thedifferent pairs ofcylinders the two aprons are made to separate bycarrying them over small rolls 0" rr 7*, so as to allow evaporation frombetween as well as from above and below them. The cylinders forming therollergates and those between are carried with equal velocity by thebevel gear-wheels G-G .6}, connected upon a shaft driven by the pulleyN. In addition to or instead of heating the cylinders from within bysteam heating-coils S S S may be used. Between the two aprons andstraight through the middle of the chamber the paper or other web to bedried is carried, squeezed between the cylin- .ders at the entrance andgiving up much of its moisture through capillary attraction to the twoaprons, and heated to what in that rarefied air is practically theboiling-point, then having them separate from it, so as to allow freeevaporation from all the surfaces, again squeezed between another pairof hot rolls, and again freed from contact with the two aprons, the weband the aprons will pass out through the roller-gates dry. If, however,this web is running too rapidly to be dried in so short a distance, thevacuum-chamber may be made longer and more pairs of hot cylinders bepassed in its course.

It will be observed that by this invention the web itself does not touchthe heated cylstructed precisely as shown.

inders, while the advantage of rapid heating is secured by the contactof the aprons and the surface of paper is not calendered, nor its fiberscurled and weakened by the heat. It is also to be noted that provisionis made for carrying the most delicate webs safely through, since in allclose places they are between the moving aprons.

The drawing Fig. 1 shows the interior surfaces of the chamber and thesurfaces of the cylinders and separating-rolls by plain dotted lines,the aprons within the chamber by lines of dashes, and the course of theweb through the center by lines of dots and dashes.

It Will be understood that this invention admits of much variety in thedetails of construction and that parts of the machine may be omitted ormuch changed without altogether destroying its efficiency, and it is notintended to limit the claims to a machine con- The machine may be usedwith or without a condenser, the'chamber may be heated through thecylinders or by steam-coils below them, and the web and aprons may becarried by a course different from that illustrated; but the feature ofthe roller-gates cannot be dispensed with, and the machine as shown isbelieved to be the best form for carrying out the invention.

In case the material of the web shrinks much in drying it will benecessary to make the outlet roller-gate carry the dry web a littleslower than the entrance roller-gate takes it in when wet. Since theendless aprons meet outside the vacuum-chamber and go through, themachine is adapted to carry through and dry not only webs and warps, butalso short sheets, as of leather-board or strawboard, and also loosesubstances, as wool, hair, and the like. It is not intended to limit themachine to any single use.

It is of course understood that the journals of the cylinders and allparts that reach through the walls of the vacuum-chamber, as well as theroller-gates, are packed to prevent the entrance of air.

It is known that driers have been invented subjecting moving webs to anartificial blast of warm air, but it is believed to be new to carry themthrough a vacuum-chamber in which the temperature of the boiling-pointof water is so reduced that the water is actually boiled out of the Webswhen they are heated only to some 180 or 190 Fahrenheit.

What is claimed is- 1. A vacuum web-drier, having a closed chamber, anexhauster capable of removing at least half of the atmospheric pressure,means to heat said chamber preferably to less than one hundred andninety degrees Fahrenheit (190 F.) and roller-gates arranged at theentrance and exit of said chamber to close the said chamber against theentrance of external air and to carry the web to be dried into and outof the machine, substantially as described.

2. A vacuum web drier, consisting of a closed chamber communicating withan exhauster, means for heating the interior of the same, rolls in pairsrolling against each other, and suitably packed against the walls ofsaid chamber, forming roller-gates through which the web may be rolledinto and out from the chamber while these rolls with the web betweenthem close the openings against the admission of air, and connectingmechanism, whereby the rolls of the said gates and all the parts incontact with the web to be dried are moved with the same surfacevelocity, substantially as described.

3. A vacuum webdrier, consisting of a closed chamber,connecting with anexhauster, means for heating the interior of the same, two rolls rollingagainst each other, suitably packed against the walls of thevacuum-chamber, driven by power, and adapted to carry the web betweenthem into the said chamber without admitting air, and two similar rolls,similarly placed, and adapted to roll the said web out from the saidchamber, substantially as described.

4. A vacuum web-drier, consisting of a' closed chamber connected with anexhauster, means for heating the interior of the same, two rolls rollingagainst each other, suitably packed against the walls of the vacuum-chamher, and adapted to carry the web between them into the saidchamber, and two similar rolls similarly placed, and adapted to roll thesaid web out from the said chamber, the said rolls being provided withhollow journals, and means to supply heat to the said rolls throughtheir said journals, substantially as described.

5. In a vacuum Web-drier, the combination of the vacuum-chamber, theheating-surfaces within it, the moving rolls in pairs, formingroller-gates, closing the entrance and exit of the said chamber againstthe pressure of the external air, and an exhauster, arranged for jointaction, substantially as specified.

6. In a vacuum web-drier, the combination of the vacuum-chamber, theheating-surfaces within it, the movingrolls in pairs, formingroller-gates, closing the entrance and exit of the said chamber againstthe pressure of the external air, and a condenser and an exhausterarranged for joint action, substantially as specified.

7. In a vacuum web-drier, a closed chamber connected internally with anexhauster, means for heating the interior of the same, rolls in pairs"packed against the walls of the vacuum-chamber, rolling against eachother and forming roller-gates by which the web may be rolled into andout from said chamber, an endless apron passing through these gates, andthrough the said chamber, and adjustable guide or tightening rollers,substantially as described.

8. In a vacuum web-drier, a closed chamber connected with an exhauster,means for heating the interior of the same, rolls in pairs,

packed against the walls of the vacuum-cha1nber and rolling against eachother, and forming roller-gates by which the web may be rolled into andout from the chamber, an endless apron passing through these gates andthrough the said chamber, and returning outside, and guide or tighteningrollers, substantially as described.

9. A vacuum web-drier, comprising a closed chamber connected internallywith an exhauster, rolls or cylinders heated through their journals andarranged in pairs, two pairs of such rolls forming the inlet and theoutlet forsaid chamber, in combination with two endless aprons adaptedto pass through the said chamber and be pressed between the two rolls orcylinders of each pair, and to receive the wet web between them asthey'enter the chamber, and to guide such web through this chamber,substantially as described.

10. A vacuum web-drier,comprising a closed chamber connected with anexhauster, rolls or cylinders heated through their journals, andarranged in pairs, two pairs of such rolls form ing the inlet and theoutlet for said chamber, in combination with two endless aprons arrangedabout said rollers or cylinders and adapted to pass through the saidchamber and to return outside the said chamber, and to receive the wetweb between them as they enter the chamber, and to guide such webthrough the chamber, substantially as sp'ecified.

l1. In a vacuum web-drier, suitably exhausted and suitably heated,cylinders grouped in pairs and connected to rotate together for jointaction, in combination with two endless aprons, arranged to cometogether where they are pressed between the two cylinders of each pairand being carried over small intermediate rollers to be separated fromeach other and from the web carried between them, in passing from onepair of cylinders to the next within the vacuum-chamber, substantiallyas herein set forth.

12. In a vacuum web drier, a chamber, means to exhaust it, means to heatit, cylinders grouped in pairs and disposed in said exhausted and heatedchamber, adapted to rotate together with equal surface velocity, twoendless aprons adapted to receive the web to be dried between them, andarranged to come together where they pass between the two cylinders ofeach pair, and guide-rollers arranged in different planes from the planeof contact of the pairs of cylinders, and between such pairs ofcylinders, so as to separate the aprons and their containedweb at pointsbetween the said pairs of cylinders, substantially as described.

13. In a vacuum web-drier, the closed chamber B, connecting into theexhaust-conduit E, the roller-gates G, C, and C", O, packed at I againstthe walls of the chamber, in a way to exclude the air, while allowingthe web which is to be dried to pass between them, the endless aprons A,A, passing together through these gates, and arranged to carry the webbetween them through the chamber, and the guide-rol1ers R, R, R, R, overwhich these aprons are separately returned, substantially as set forth.

14. In a vacuum web-drier, the closed chamber B, connecting into theexhaust-conduit E, the roller-gates C, O, and O, 0', allowing the weband the endless aprons to pass, While eX- cluding the air, the endlessaprons A, A, the adjustable guide-rollers R, R, R, R, outside thechamber, and within, the separating guiderollers r, r, r, 0", arrangedin pairs between

